Dirigible headlight



E. Q. ORMISTON. DIRIGIBLE HEADLIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED oc. 25, I92o.

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C@ La o w M E. Q. ORMISTON.

DIRIGIBLE HEADLIGHT. APPLICATION msn ocr. 25. 1920.'

1,403,627I Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' Ell-VIARD QUKY ORMSTN, Ol? DETROIT; ltCHG'AN.

DIR'lGBLE HEADLGHT. v

, incase?.

To aZZ'ioZwm-z't may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD QUAY Oniiii'sroN, a citizen of the United States, residin at Detroit, in the county of llVayne and citate of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dirigible Headlights, of whi'chthe following is a specification. Y

T his invention relates to improvements in dirigible headlights especially adapted for application to motor vehicles. A

An important object of this invention is to provide reliable means whereby the headlights of a motor vehicle may be turned or rotated when the wheels are turned by the steering apparatus so that when thevehicle `is making a turn, the headlights will shine in the direction f travel ofthe frontl wheels,

thereby illuminating the curve Aoribend in` the road rather than shining directly forwardly ofthevvehicle.

` The invention forming the'subject matter of this application 'aims also to provide,

novel means whereby the headlights and the turning and supporting means of the same may be supported solely by the vehicle axle so that the movement of the body with relation to the front axle as the result of encountering inequalities in the road, will not bend or brealr the rods which connect the headlightsto the steering apparatus. rlhis feature ofthe invention, in addition to eliminating the possibility of parts of the apparatus becoming strained also prevents the headlights and associated parts from becoming loose and noisy, and also permits the saine to readily respond to the operation of the steering appa 'atus vrfurther object of the invention is to provide a pair of dirigible headlights and supporting means for the same which may be readily and conveniently attached to motor vehicles either in the course of manufacture or while the same aielin use. l n

A still further object of the invention isto provide a dirigible headlight which is neat in appearance, desirable in use and cheap to manufacture.l

@ther objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In thel accompanying drawings,l forming a part of this specication, and in which Specficationof Letters EatentA Patr-Riga E131-, '7, 1922 Application filed @ctobcr 25, `1?; Serial No. 419,192.y i

like numerals are employed todesignate like parts throughout the same:

Figure l isa plan view of dirigible headlights applied,

Figure 2 is an elevation of a pair of the improved headlights applied, Figure 3 is a side elevation improved headlights applied,

Figure #l is a fragmentary perspective view of the supporting and bracing means for the headlights7 Figure 5 is a side elevation of a clamp einbodied in the invention,

r igure 6 isa detail sectional view througl'i the supporting means for the headlight,A

Figure 7 is a fragmentary elevation of a slightly modified form of attaching membe embodied in theinven'tion.

In the drawings, wherein 'for the purpose of one of the of ,illustration is shown a preferred embodiment oi the invention, the numeral l() designates the radiator of a motor vehicle which as is usual, is provided with an internal comy bustion engine or other source of power within or beneath a hood l2. lThe motor ve-` hicle is provided with the usual front axle la, in the forni of an I beam and which has its ends connected by means of spindles to the front wheels. As this particular part of a motor vehicle is old and well known, detailed illustration is believed to be unnecessaii'y. A transversely extending tie rod 15 is arranged rearwardly of the front axle let and is connec'tml to the wheel spindles so that when a rotary motion is given the steer-- ing wheel the front wheels ofthe vehicle will be turned in the desired direction.

The invention forming the subject matter of this application comprises in Apart a pair of vertically arranged bearings 16 havingV late-rally projecting attaching i'ianges 18 secured' between the ianges 8 and 19 of the front axle by meansof ybolts 2th With reference to Figures and b, rit will be observed that ea'ch bearing 16 and the/detachable cap 22 of the same rotatably-supports an L-shaped arm 2st having its lower portion reduced so`as to form an annular shoulder y 25 which rests upon the bearing` The lower portion of each arm 2441s extended rearwardly'as indicated at 2b' and is pivoted to one of a pair oi'l connecting rods 27 by means of pivot elements 28. The connecting rods the improved vthe shank.

27, of which there are two, are extended inwardly and have their adjacent end portions Voverlaiiped and confined between the arms 2f) ol? a clamp 30 adapted to be connected to the intern'iediate portion ol the tie rod 15. A bolt 232 is extended through the arms 29 of the clamp and serves to pivotally connect the adjacent ends ot the connecting rods 27 to the clamp so that when the clamp is moved transversely oil the vehicle a similar movement will be imparted to the connecting rods. 'lhe gripping portion 33 et the clamp SO is in the form ot a split loop adapted to be arranged about the tie rod and the ends ot the split loop are extended rearwardly to form ears 36 adapted to be connected by means of a bolt 3T.

The upper portion of' the L-shaped arm 24- is extended forwardly as indicated at 40 and is termed with a squared socket l l2 adapted :tor the reception of the squared portion ll?) ot the shank ad of a headlight 45. When the squared portion 43 of the shank i-1l is received within the squared socket or opening ll2 a shoulder el? formed upwardly oi the squared portion 4:3, engages the adjacent portion of the arm and limits the downward movement oit ythe shank.

A portion of the shank lll is screw threaded as, indicated at 50 and is adapted to be engaged by a lock nut 5l which serves to confine the squared. portion of the shank within the opening a2. As illustrated in Figures l and 2, a bracing member inthe form ot a rod 53 is extended across the front of the radiator and has its end portions curved and formed with apertures 54E which receive the threaded portions 50 or' The rod 53 'which serves as a means for bracing the headlight and the supporting means for the same, held in engagement with the screw threaded pon tion 50 by means oiE a loclr nut 5G. A turther l'unction ot the rod 53 is to cause the headlights to operate in unison.

As illustrated in Figures l and (3, a bracket 58 is provided at its lower end with laterally projecting attaching flanges G0 which are secured to the axle by means ot the bolts 2O which are also extended through the laterally projecting flanges 18 of thek bearings 16. The upper portions of the brackets are provided with forward exteir sions 61 which rotatably receive the upper portion oit the arms 2li.

1n applying the improved headlight to a vehicle, the axle oi the vehicle provided. with openings for the reception oit the bolts 20 and the bearings 1G and the bracket 58 are subsequently connected to opposite sides Voit the axle. The extensions 61 are, of cours@ previously connected to the arms 21st and the caps 22 may now be applied to the bearings for properly supporting the arms. The

iinal step of the operation of applying the improved headlights7 is to connect the shanlis of the same by means oit the transversely extending rod In some motor vehicles, the axle 14; is arranged some distance rearwardly oit the plane of the radiator and if the bearing 1G were attached directly to the axle, as illus tra-ted in Figure 6, the arm 2a would ex tend up rearwardly of the radiator. To overcome this difficulty, which would exist in applying the invention to some machines, l have provided an extension 7() which'may be arranged between the axle and the bearing and connected to the same through the medium of bolts. lVhen a pair of the extensions are employed, the length ot the extensions 6l and the arms 26 will have to be correspondingly increased.

'In the use of the device, the operation of the steering apparatus will direct the light either to the right or to the lett, according to the direction taken by the front wheels. ln this manner, the curve in a roadway is illuminated rather than the space at one side oi the road directly in lront of the vehicle.

lith reference to Figure 2, it will be 0bserved that the headlights and the supportj ing means for the saine, are supported entirely by the front axle so that any move ment of the body of the lvehicle with ret@ erence to the front axle will not cause'the connecting rods 27 to loosen or become strained. 1n this manner, therheadlights and the supporting means for the same are prevented from possibly breaking and be coming noisy as the result oli' continuous use.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination with a vehicle having a front axle and a steering apparatus provided with a transversely extending tie rod, ol? bearings secured to the iront side olf the axle, arms rotatably supported by said bearings and having their upper extremitiils extended forwardly and their lower portions extended rearwardly under the axle, headlights secured to the forwardly extended upper extremities of said arms, brackets'se cured to the rear side of the axle and having their upper portions extended forwardly over to rotatably receive said arms, connecting rods pivoted to the rearwardly extended lower portions ot said arms, and a clamp secured upon and projecting for ward from the tie rod and Vhaving adjacent ends oi? the connecting rods pivoted to its torward extremity.

2. The combination with a vehicle having a front axle, and a steering apparatus provided with a transversely extending tie f rearwardly under the axle and said brackets,

connectingl rods pivoted to the rearwardly extended portions of said arms, a pivotal connection between the inner ends of the Connecting rods and the tie rod7 and a bracing` rod extending between and pivotally l5 Connected to said headlights.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

EDWARD QUAY ORMISTON. [n S.] 

